The largest collection of papers on microfilm includes the
Charlotte News (1888-1985) and the Charlotte Observer (1893 - ).
Unfortunately the older editions are not indexed and not part of
the clipping files. A citation is necessary or a lengthy search
of the papers is required. Many newspapers, many from the 19th
century, that are no longer published can be read on microfilm.
These too are an excellent window in time but are not indexed and
must be searched individually.

Current subscriptions to the Charlotte Observer and the
Raleigh News and Observer are maintained on microfilm.
Paper copies of each are kept until microfilm copies arrive.
Carolina Room maintains subscriptions to 12 other NC and SC
papers. These however are only retained for two weeks.

Electronic Access

Full-text access of the Charlotte Observer is available (1985
to the present) to anyone for a nominal fee on the World Wide Web
from Charlotte.com
<www.charlotte.com>, a service of the Charlotte Observer.
Full text access to the Charlotte Observer is available at
no cost on many public access computers at all Library locations,
including the Carolina Room.

All Library locations, including the Carolina Room, offer
access to ProQuest Direct's North Carolina Newsstand
which provides full-text coverage of the Greensboro News &
Record, Wilmington Morning Star, and the Raleigh
News & Observer, plus selected coverage of other regional
sources. ProQuest Direct is one of many online electronic
services provided to North Carolina Libraries through NCLive
<http://www.nclive.org>.

This collection spans from 1956 to 1996 with 12 file drawers
of clippings in a limited number of subject headings. Today, 120
drawers are filled with literally thousands of folders with
almost as many subject headings. They are organized much like the
local history information. Major classifications are Charlotte,
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. A small segment of the
collection is devoted to South Carolina.

These clippings are especially valuable because the local
paper is not indexed before 1985.

More than 400 titles are represented in this collection.
Approximately 50% are active subscriptions that cover subjects
ranging from poety to wildlife, from nature to politics. Back
issues of many are bound for preservation. The periodicals often
provide excellent supplemental information for the serious
researcher.

One of the Carolina Room's main collection focuses is
Genealogy. The department specializes in the eastern part of the
United States with very strong emphasis on North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia.

Census- More than 30 states are represented
in the collection of Census of Population microfilm and print
materials. The years available vary from state to state. For
patrons visiting the library, missing film can be ordered from
the American Genealogical Lending Library. One of the first
avenues of ancestral research is access to census records.

Many items provide valuable information. However due to their
physical nature, e.g. too fragile, too small, it is not practical
to catalog and shelve these items. These are kept in the vertical
files along with newspaper clippings. For example, a promotional
brochure by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce could include
demographic data. This would be placed in North Carolina - Cities
and Towns - Asheville.